“He knows it too,” Mack said. “He’s a spoiled wee boy.”

“I’m sure he deserves to be spoiled.”

Mack reached out and scratched him under the chin, “Yeah, he does, especially being away from him for so long.”

“You were away?”

Flora saw Mack look down at the floor nervously. “Just a family thing. So I better get this little man his walk before my next client.”

Flora put Dexter down on the floor. She sensed Mack was being evasive, but of course said nothing.

“Before you go, can I give Dexter a treat?”

“Aye, he’d love that,” Mack said.

Flora hurried behind the counter and got out the tin of dog treats she had bought at the supermarket. She knelt down next to Dexter. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

“He loves that kind.”

Flora looked up from her kneeling position and saw Mack giving her that smile again. The one that made her shiver and her stomach twist. They looked at each other silently for a few seconds. Then Mack closed her eyes, and when she opened them up said, “You know, if you ever want to take a walk with us, just say. We’d love the company.”

If she was neurotypical like she’d always wanted to be, and not this awkward socially challenged woman, Flora would have said yes straight away, but instead panic was besetting her brain. “I…”

Before Flora could get her excuses out, Mack said, “No pressure. The offer’s there.”

Flora stood up. Mack made her tense, conflicted mind settle in an instant. It was a first. It really felt like Mack understood her issues, without even being told.

“Thanks.”

“And I’ll need to show you around my barber’s sometime. You can get a look at what we’ve done on YouTube.”

“You’re on YouTube?” Flora said with surprise.

“Yeah, I’ve had the channel for a few years. I give tips on cutting hair, shaving, things like that, but now that I’ve got my own shop, I’m going to do it more seriously. It’s a good advert for the shop.”

“Sounds great. I’ll look it up. What’s the channel called?”

“Mack the Knife. It’s a nickname of mine. A lot of barbershops are on YouTube now. To be honest, most viewers watch to relax and fall asleep at night.”

“ASMR,” Flora blurted out excitedly. Autonomous sensory meridian response gave a sedative, almost brain-massage feeling. Not everybody had heard of it.

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure if you’d heard of it. In fact I hadn’t until I got feedback on my videos. So I try to make my uploads more for the ASMR viewer.”

“Not everyone feels it,” Flora said.

“No, I don’t,” Mack said, “but I wish I did.”